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Ford faces parts shortages as virus impacts Mexico factories Financial Times / July 10, 2020 Ford is facing potential parts shortages from suppliers in northern Mexico as the pandemic throttles production, threatening the ability of US factories to keep manufacturing vehicles. The governor of the state of Chihuahua, an important region supplying the US automotive industry, has barred employers from operating with more than half their workforce in an attempt to control the spread of Covid-19. “Due to COVID-19, the State of Chihuahua in Mexico has limited employee attendance to 50 per cent, a region in which we have several suppliers,” Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford’s Americas and International Markets Group, said in a statement. “With our US plants running at 100 per cent, that is not sustainable. While we do not expect any impact to production next week, we are continuing to work with government officials on ways to safely and constructively resume remaining production.” Besides suppliers, Ford operates an engine plant in Chihuahua where 2,400 workers make engines for its larger F-series trucks and the Escape crossover utility vehicle. Christopher Landau, the US ambassador to Mexico who has a reputation for speaking candidly, told an Atlantic Council webinar on Thursday that Ford was struggling to deal with capacity constraints at the engine plant. “Last night at the dinner I was talking to one of the senior executives from the Ford Motor Company,” he said. “They were saying they are going to have to start shutting down their factories in the United States as of next week if they don’t get that rolling.” The dinner he referred to was at the White House during Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s visit to Washington. Óscar Albín, president of the National Autoparts Industry, said that while he had not heard about Ford’s problem specifically, in Chihuahua, “many car parts are not being produced to the needs of the car factories in the US and Mexico. In June, production was sufficient because the car factories were not working at 100 per cent either, but in July the [car] factories are at 100 per cent”. Asked if there could be shortages, Mr Albín added: “It’s not that there could be, there are. And not just Ford, all the factories in the US.” Luis Carlos Ramirez, Chihuahua president of Index, which groups manufacture-for-export industries, said Ford had started at 30 per cent capacity at the start of June, when the automotive industry was designated essential. At that time, under Mexico’s traffic light system which governs the gradual reopening of the economy according to the spread of the virus, Chihuahua was on red, but two weeks ago, it moved to amber and increased to 50 per cent. “We hope we will soon change to yellow and be on 80 per cent,” Mr Ramirez said. The only surprise in a carmaker experiencing supply chain problems in Mexico because of the pandemic was that it had not happened sooner, said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of industry, labour and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan. She said trouble at the Chihuahua engine plant would be particularly painful because while all vehicle sales are down — Ford’s US sales plunged 33 per cent in the second quarter — demand for trucks had been more resilient. Furthermore, trucks were more profitable.

International Trucks / July 9, 2020 What are you waiting for? It's never been easier to buy an International Truck! Take advantage of no payments for six months. Learn more at https://bit.ly/30RK36f. .

If NAV falls under $6 again, I will buy again. (It fell to $5.99 on Jan 16, 2020, and $5.78 on Jan 20, 2020.)

ENDTF673C, E6-250, E6-270, ENDT675, ENDT676, E6-350 (2VH), ENDT865, ENDT866

Scania Group China / July 9, 2020 Since 2013, Scania China has awarded a gold medal to customers who have driven a Scania truck for more than 3 million kilometres (1,864,114 miles). As reported by truck journal ZHKA (重型车网) on June 29, another two Scania trucks recently reached this impressive milestone. The recipient is a G 420 6×2, which has been in operation for nine years between Shanghai and Shenzhen. The other truck is a Scania G 380 6×2, which transports ordinary goods from Guangzhou to Wuxi. "It is very easy and convenient to drive a Scania truck. I don't have to worry about failures if I have the truck maintained regularly. I must complete the 1,400-kilometre long trip from Shanghai to Shenzhen in 22 hours, and I can make 12 round trips every month. The engine has never had a repair over the past nine year," said Tan Zhiping, owner of the G 420. These testimonies show that paying for quality pays off for the right application. More and more transports in China put high demands on the transport business. .

The US has 4 percent of the global population.........and 25 percent of infections.........from a virus that began on the other side of the world. A record 62,751 new infections were reported across the US on Wednesday, including 9,979 in Texas and 11,694 in California.

NAV stock is still expensive.

Daimler Trucks Press Release / July 9, 2020 The Mercedes-Benz Arocs is a handsome eye-catcher just on its own. However, the fleet of Tony Rees from Porthcawl in the UK is it also at second glance. This proud customer of Mercedes-Benz Trucks is an avowed fan of Formula 1™. This is evident in the airbrush artwork on the rear wall of the cabs showing sports stars Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas with their racing cars. Founded in 2004, the company specialises in transporting very different types of reusable materials and scrap – from carpets and electrical items to metals and plastics. Equipped with the fuel-saving Predictive Powertrain Control systems and the latest generation of Active Brake Assist as well as with the intuitive multimedia cockpit with touch function on-board, the new Mercedes-Benz Arocs is particularly suited to this task. .

MAN Truck & Bus / June 4, 2020 . . . .

“Overall, [our] mask requirement has been well received. There have been some who have chosen not to shop here. But overall, the majority of the people have been supportive of it. We believe it’s to help slow the spread of the virus. If we’re right, we’re right. If we’re not right, it’s a relatively small inconvenience. We’re not trying to challenge anybody’s constitutional rights. All of these things were not done to help our business. We were trying to be responsible. We know there are differing viewpoints, but certainly our employees appreciate it. We have over 2 million people come into Costco every day. If someone comes in without a mask, we just ask them to leave.” Richard Galanti, chief financial officer for Costco (Costco has 547 stores across the US and 250 international locations)

South African operators run a lot of "interlinks", their name for B-doubles (aka. B-Train).

DAF Trucks Press Release / July 6, 2020 A brand-new ready-to-use mixer, tipper, curtain sider or other rigid directly available? With the introduction of DAF "Ready to Go", every operator in direct need for specific bodied vehicles, can rely on the finest selection of popular pre-configured and fully built-up vehicles. Being successful in a seasonal business means being able to react quickly to market requirements. Therefore it can be important to be able to expand a fleet on shortest notice possible. Superstructures of leading bodybuilders For popular rigid trucks such as mixers, tippers and curtain siders, DAF has created an appropriate stock of commercial vehicles which are ready for operation. In those countries where the Ready to Go program is already available, it is possible to browse the complete European stock via an intuitive search function on the national DAF Trucks country website. Ordering can done via the local dealer, wherever the truck might be located in Europe. After checking the specifications, delivery takes place on a short notice. All pre-configured ready-for-use rigids on stock feature industry-specific bodies from leading manufacturers. Increasing number of vehicles DAF’s Ready to Go program makes a rolling start with the direct availability of about 100 vehicles. This number will further increase rapidly as the program expands all over Europe. For this moment, the new Ready to Go program is available in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Other European countries will follow in the course of this year. .

DAF Trucks Press Release / June 25, 2020 On Thursday 25 June, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands paid a working visit to DAF Trucks in Eindhoven. The visit was made in the light of the impact the corona pandemic has had on the automotive industry. The King was briefed by DAF president Harry Wolters before speaking with a number of DAF employees in the truck factory. The working visit to the Eindhoven region began at Nedschroef, a company that manufactures fasteners, machines and tools for, among others, DAF. Next, the King visited the production facilities at DAF, where he was informed on the impact the crisis has had and on the restart of the production process. The conversation in the truck factory with DAF employees centred on the adjustments that have been made in production and the effect these have had on the workers’ daily activities. At the end of his working visit the King took part in a roundtable discussion – with high level figures from the Dutch automotive industry – on the consequences of the corona crisis for the sector in general. The participants discussed about the production locations that were forced to close abruptly and that have now started up again after making the required adjustments. “It was a great honour to welcome King Willem-Alexander here. We greatly appreciate his interest and concern,” said Harry Wolters. “In particular, it represents highly deserved recognition for our employees, who over the past few months have contributed enormously to creating a working environment in which we can continue to manufacture our fantastic trucks in a safe and healthy manner, entirely according to the current guidelines. That’s something we are very proud of!” .

BBC / June 8, 2020 The US reported a record of more than 60,000 daily confirmed cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The previous highest tally was 55,220, which the US recorded on 2 July. The latest figures come as the states of California and Texas each reported more than 10,000 new daily cases. Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert and adviser to the White House on coronavirus, said the US was "knee-deep" in its first coronavirus wave. The US has had, by far, the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths of any country. More than three million infections have been recorded across the US since the beginning of the pandemic. Covid-19 has been linked to over 131,000 deaths in the US.

This is huge in itself, and hugely negative for Navistar. Renschler is the "truck guy", the key to making Traton work. His chosen replacement is a finance guy (no offense to finance guys). In my opinion, firing Renschler is disastrous for the Navistar partnership, and MAN. Scania knows how to run itself. This is what happens when car guys make decisions on a truckmaker (we've seen it before with Ford, and GM heavy truck)

Bloomberg / July 7, 2020 FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group's series of executive shake-ups is reaching its heavy-truck division Traton, with the surprise departure of the unit’s chief raising questions about its future strategy. Andreas Renschler will leave VW’s management board effective July 15 and be replaced by Matthias Gruendler, the former CFO of the Munich-based truck unit, according to a statement Tuesday. Traton management board member Joachim Drees, who leads the MAN trucks business, also will leave his post, as will personnel chief Carsten Intra. Intra will replace Thomas Sedran as head of VW’s light commercial vehicles division. Sedran, a key figure behind VW’s alliance with Ford Motor Co., will assume responsibility for asset management at the commercial vehicles and machinery operations. VW group has made several management changes over the past weeks amid internal tension that has risen from costly efforts to electrify its lineup while also coping with the biggest industry slump in decades. Tesla zoomed past the industrial giant in terms of market capitalization early this year and now has more than tripled VW’s valuation despite selling a fraction as many vehicles. Executive overhaul Former VW brand COO Ralf Brandstaetter was promoted to the brand chief position last month after group CEO Herbert Diess lost direct control following a clash with key supervisory board members. VW brand development chief Matthias Rabe moved to the British luxury-car marque Bentley and VW group purchasing chief Stefan Sommer abruptly left the manufacturer. The new CEO of VW Group's Audi brand, Markus Duesmann, who took over at the group’s premium-car unit in April, plans to accelerate a restructuring push to restore profit margins. VW pushed through an initial public offering of Traton last year after some back-and-forth that dragged on for months, but proceeds fell short of expectations. Navistar implications Traton also made a takeover offer for U.S. peer Navistar International earlier this year. VW officials have signaled the strategic logic for the deal remains intact but have sent mixed signals about when and under what conditions the deal might go ahead. Navistar shares slumped following Traton’s announcement, falling 5.9 percent to close at $27.17 Tuesday in New York trading. Navistar’s stock is still up 13 percent since Traton made its $2.9 billion offer in January. “From a personal point of view there is no better point in time to leave and to hand over the business to a very experienced successor,” Renschler said in an internal letter to employees seen by Bloomberg. “With Matthias Gruendler, who some of you should know as our former CFO, as my successor I am sure that you will support him as much as you supported me.”

MAN TGS 40.440 6x6 MAN is the (old) Mack Trucks of Germany .

Note the cast Ford emblem on the axle flange of Ford Truck's proprietary 32-tonne (70,548lb) planetary hub reduction drive axles.

Russian trailers and tippers from Grunwald withstand the harshest environments thanks to Hardox® steel SSAB / May 14, 2019 When Russian trailer manufacturer Grunwald needed a high-strength steel that could withstand even the most demanding environments, it turned to SSAB for help. Producing high quality, lightweight trailers that can operate in the harshest environments is all in a day’s work for Russian trailer manufacturer Grunwald. The company is a leading producer of semi-trailers and tipper superstructures, producing more than 1,500 vehicles since it was founded in 2007. Despite its relatively short history, Grunwald is now successfully competing with long-established trailer manufacturers to supply vehicles to northern Europe, Russia and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States. High quality materials are critical to Grunwald’s manufacturing, which takes place at one site in Moscow and another two in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. “Steel is the main material we use in manufacturing – and we need it to be the best,” explains Mikhail Bagin, Grunwald’s head of marketing. “The steel has to be able to withstand harsh environments as our trailers are used all over Russia. Trailers must operate in all weathers and extreme temperature and climatic conditions.” For its steel requirements, Grunwald uses Nordic steel company SSAB as its key supplier. “We appreciate the deep technical knowledge and SSAB experts’ years of experience,” explains Bagin. “SSAB steel has been widely used in production at Grunwald for a long time.” When it comes to steel that can operate in tough environments, SSAB’s Hardox® wear plate abrasion-resistant steel is used by Grunwald throughout its trailers. “We choose Hardox® because of its excellent resistance to both wear and the formation of dents and cracks – even in the harshest operating conditions,” explain Bagin. “Vehicles produced using Hardox® are characterised by low weight, improved technical and operational characteristics, durability, resistance to loads and improved fuel efficiency.” In Russia, there has been a recent tightening of weight restrictions on roads, making the overloading of trucks illegal. Carriers now want to increase the legal payload using modern, lightweight commercial equipment, and SSAB high strength steel enables the trailer manufacturer to reduce trailer weight, meaning heavier loads of cargo can be transported. “Thanks to the smaller weight of our semitrailers, our customers can transport more cargo, but still work without violating weight control requirements. That means a strong competitive advantage and greater profitability,” Bagin explains. Grunwald trailers and tippers are now certified under the Hardox® In My Body program, which confirms that its products, have passed strict quality control and are approved as by the SSAB board. Specialists within wear and structural technology carefully analyze each application regarding welding quality, manufacturing process and design. The sign of quality with premium ingredients gives you as a user a significantly higher used equipment value.“Due to the fact that our products are certified under the program, we’re given priority access to the latest SSAB developments in materials science, applied technology and production methods, as well as prioritized marketing support” says Bagin. “This helps to make our semi-trailers even more advanced and efficient. And for our customers, it means they know they’re getting a first-class product.” These customers now include MAN, Volvo and Renault, for whom Grunwald has manufactured tipper superstructures made of Hardox® steel. The Russian market is also interested in the tipper superstructure product, says Bagin. “We now plan to co-operate with other OEMs on developing and manufacturing tipper superstructures. And just like our other products, when it comes to our choice of hard-wearing steel, we will be choosing Hardox® wear plate from SSAB.” Hardox® provides tough steel solution Hardox® wear plate is the world’s leading abrasion-resistant steel; it’s hard through and through, from the surface down to the core. For customers, this means extended service life and high productivity, even in the most challenging environments. A Russian manufacturing success story Working with German design engineering teams, Grunwald began to manufacture semi-trailers in 2007. The aim was to produce semi-trailers of German quality but heavy-duty enough for Russian roads. Today, the Grunwald plant produces more than 15 different semi-trailer models. .

Ford Trucks Russia / June 30, 2020 Ford Trucks introduces a new version of its popular twin-steer Model 4142D 8x4 construction [vocational] chassis specifically engineered for the needs of Russian construction companies. Equipped with a Grunwald body made from HARDOX steel 450It, the Ford 4142D delivers in performance, operating economy and legendary durability. .

Ford heavy trucks offers low fuel consumption, long service intervals and convenient payment options, providing cost-effective, high performance models for all your needs. With Ford Trucks, your business is always on the move. #SharingTheLoad #FordTrucks .

Bloomberg / July 7, 2020 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is appealing to everyone in public life to urge people to wear masks to control the spread of COVID-19. “This is not over. We are seeing a resurgence in a lot of states,” McConnell said at one of three press conferences he held Monday in Kentucky. “Look, the single most important thing each of us can do to not only help ourselves but protect our friends and neighbors and everyone around us is not complicated — to wear a mask,” McConnell said. “It ain’t confusing. It’s really simple.” McConnell says everyone in public life should set an example by wearing masks and urging people to wear them. “We all need to echo that all across the commonwealth and all across the country,” he said. McConnell blamed soaring case counts on people not taking the virus seriously enough.